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Pop goes the lamp? ~600 hrs. on the Z1 so far

2646 Views 49 Replies 18 Participants Last post by rogo, Sep 23, 2003

rogo

Discussion Starter · Sep 13, 2003

Well, I'm watching TV here and it's been a hot day. Obnoxiously so, but still only about 80ish in the room here.

After a few hours of TV, I here a pop and the lamp goes dark. The Ready light comes on again eventually, but I wait to let the thing cool for awhile.

Turn it on, high fan for a few seconds and then the red Lamp light and nothing.

I give up for tonight but I am, currently, a very unhappy camper.

FWIW, I have treated the projector nicely in terms of relatively few on-off cycles per day (1-2), the filter is cleaned, the thing sits with a ton of ventilation.

Vexed,

Mark

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rogo

Discussion Starter · #2 · Sep 13, 2003

Well, I opened it up and confirmed the bad news. The lamp has some broken pieces inside it. It will clearly never function again.

As someone who was looking for 2000 hrs. or so (using Economy / Theater Black mode at all times), this is not a happy thing for me.

I was planning on putting this puppy in the bedroom for years to come. But is that realistic?

Three requests:

(1) Report your lamp hour counts

(2) If you have replaced your lamp, report its life

(3) Tell me where to buy a lamp cheaply

Mark

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Sime

· #3 · Sep 13, 2003

I know it is out of warranty, but I would contact Sanyo or your retailer about this. 600 hours is not acceptable. The least they could do is provide the new lamp at their direct cost.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune Rogo.

CMRA

· #4 · Sep 13, 2003

I hear you. Do you suppose that's the reason manufacturers only guarantee their lamps for 90 days? I feel bad for you. I'll feel a lot worse when it's my turn. I'm setting aside funds as we speak to cover this inevitable forth coming event. Nobody said front projection was cheap...yet.

rogo

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 13, 2003

Technically, my projector is a Boxlight 1HD, so I will contact Studio Experience on Monday to see what they say.

I also have business cards from Sanyo guys at the show who basically told me in no uncertain times that the lamp is good for 1200 hours on high power. And I've run it almost entirely in economy.

Anyway, I'm expecting very little, but I will bark and see what happens.

I think keeping a database of projectors and lamp lives is in order. If it were to turn out that one that was pricier had, on average, 2-3x the lamp life it could end up being like inkjet vs. laser -- the "cheaper" one ends up costing more over time.

Mark

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darinp

· #6 · Sep 14, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by rogo
I also have business cards from Sanyo guys at the show who basically told me in no uncertain times that the lamp is good for 1200 hours on high power. And I've run it almost entirely in economy.

Hi Mark,

Sorry to hear about the lamp. I came away from that conversation with the Sanyo guys thinking that they weren't very confident in the lamps. I found it interesting that they were so eager to ask you how many hours you had gotten with your lamp. Maybe I misread them, but I was a little concerned about bulb life after that. They seemed to indicate that the specs are under ideal conditions. I didn't remember the actual quote of what you should get, though.

--Darin

Reactions: 1

rogo

Discussion Starter · #7 · Sep 14, 2003

Well, I agree there was a lack of confidence Darin. But I'm also sure it was 1200 in high power. Because when I said, "What if it's in low power all the time?" They said, "Then you'll get more."

It really promises to be an interesting Monday.

I have to say that if I'm really going to move the Z1 to the bedroom -- which I'm jazzed on, 55" TV, 12 lbs., $1200 total -- I would be fine with lousy bulb life. It would be hard to justify too many machinations to get another projector just to spend less on lamps.

However, if I can't go the bedroom-projector route, I am upgrading for sure anyway because, well, I'm an upgrader.

It should be an interesting Monday of phone calls and such.

Mark

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JamesL

· #8 · Sep 14, 2003

Did the bulb inside the lamp actually burst? I would have thought normal lamp life would be characterized by the tungsten electrodes burning out?

The bulb bursting sounds more like a design or manufacturing flaw?

UHP Lamp Article

rogo

Discussion Starter · #9 · Sep 15, 2003

A portion of the burner element broke off into pieces. You can see it inside the lamp as bits of broken glass.

Again, I am going to work the phones tomorrow with my displeasure. We'll see what happens.

Great link, James, by the way. Thanks.

JamesL

· #10 · Sep 15, 2003

Looks like the manufacturers quote average lamp life. The Philips 130W UHP lamp projectors quote 1000 hours average life, so a given bulb may last shorter or longer depending your luck?

lamp life

rogo

Discussion Starter · #11 · Sep 15, 2003

Well, Studio Experience was sympathetic, made it clear that the warranty does not come into play here, and did a very fair thing --> They sold me a new lamp at a fair price.

I am still not very happy and there is a chance the lamp is not in stock, but it ought to be here either by Wednesday or by next Wednesday the latest.

I am debating now whether or not to keep a spare lamp around, but, again, this projector is headed for bedroom duty, so I'm hoping (a) I get more hours on the next one and (b) in the bedroom, it lasts many moons.

Mark

Jim Banville

· #12 · Sep 16, 2003

How much are they selling it to you for? I think it is between $200 and $300 on eBay.

mtbell

· #13 · Sep 16, 2003

How old is your Z1?

dpadair

· #14 · Sep 16, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by JamesL
Looks like the manufacturers quote average lamp life.

According to that article, it's the mean, not the average. That's bad because failure rates are probably not symmetrical and a disproportionate number of early failures occur resulting in the average being LOWER than the mean.

That article was a good read.

dpadair

· #15 · Sep 16, 2003

sorry, meant median, not mean. hey it's 1am,give me a break!

rogo

Discussion Starter · #16 · Sep 16, 2003

mtbell, 6 months.

Jim, I found none on eBay. Could you tell me what to search for?

Mark

Jim Banville

· #17 · Sep 16, 2003

rogo, how much did Studio Experience sell you the lamp for?

mtbell

· #18 · Sep 16, 2003

rogo, 6 months -- that worries me (I'm in my 3rd month). I purchased my Z1 from Audio General with a spare lamp for an extra $200. They list the lamp for $305.

-Mike

JamesL

· #19 · Sep 16, 2003

Quote:

Originally posted by dpadair
According to that article, it's the mean, not the average.

The Philips literature says average. I am hoping my lamp is in the > 1000 hour part of the distribution.

rogo

Discussion Starter · #20 · Sep 16, 2003

Jim, tell me where one is in eBay.

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